Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus, a method of controlling the same, and a storage medium.
Description of the Related Art
A printer having a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) access point function of an IEEE 802.11 standard is known (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-123239). When using such a printer, it is possible to use the printing function by directly connecting to the access point that the printer is equipped with from a terminal such as a personal computer, a smart phone, or a tablet. In addition, as wireless LAN encryption method standards, WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), WPA2 (WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2)), and the like are known. When connecting to a wireless LAN access point in which these encryption functions are enabled, a passphrase as is known by WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key), WPA2-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 Pre-Shared Key), or the like is necessary. In addition, a terminal that uses an access point having a function in which it stores in advance the passphrase and an SSID (Service Set Identifier) for when connecting to the access point, and automatically connects when it discovers an access point that it succeeded in connecting to in the past is commonly known.
However, although a printer equipped with the above-described access point can be used in a home or in an office in which there is a small number of users, who are employees or the like, there are problems such as the following in the case of use in a large scale office in which there are many users. For example, if the SSID and passphrase of an access point that a printer has are fixed, when a terminal that has connected to the access point discovers the access point, the terminal automatically connects to the access point regardless of the intention of the user of the terminal. Typically, a number of terminals that can simultaneously connect to an access point that a printer has is small. For this reason, when there are many terminals that automatically connect in an office, there is a possibility that an access point is instantly connected to from a plurality of terminals when it activates, and a maximum number of connections that can simultaneously connect to the access point is reached. In such a case, the terminals that connect to the access point first monopolize the access point, and a terminal of another user who wants to use the printer becomes unable to connect to the access point. To avoid such a problem, frequently changing the SSID or passphrase of the access point that the printer is equipped with can be considered. However, with such a configuration, there is a problem in that a user who uses the printer must change the settings of the user's terminal each time the SSID and the passphrase of the access point are changed, and effort for the user increases.